Aluminum hydroxide gel is a standard therapeutic for the treatment of peptic ulcer and other symptoms of gastric hyperacidity. Liquid aluminum hydroxide gel closely approaches the ideal for an antacid. However, its liquid form makes it inconvenient to use, especially in the case of ambulatory patients. The liquid gel is quite rapid in its action and give a prolonged antacid effect in the optimum pH range. Further, it is not significantly affected in its antacid properties by pepsin and it does not significantly lose its antacid characteristics in aging. The advantages of the dried gel are obvious. Unfortunately, however, aluminum hydroxide gel undergoes undesirable change on drying during its manufacture and still more change in aging of the dried material. In the dry solid form it exhibits a lag in its rate of reaction with stomach acids and does not give a prolonged antacid effect in the optimum pH range. In addition, its antacid properties are severely affected by pepsin and its activity is less than that of the liquid gel.
Heretofore, it has not been possible to convert a gelatinous antacid system to a dry solid form which can then be resuspended to evidence the properties of the precursor wet, compressed gel. By their very nature compressed antacid gels when converted to the dried state yield products which, when dispersed in water at the usual concentration at or about 4% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, settle very rapidly because of poor rehydration properties, among other factors. Such gels have been considered to be "irreversible colloids".